Monday, 28 May 2012

The Glorious Danube - Part 4

Continuing the story
of our big Danube River voyage from east to west aboard the classic River
Duchess of Uniworld…

A Cruise-Tour

With this cruise, we started in Bucharest and already had
one full city tour under our belts before even setting foot on the boat.

That’s because Uniworld like you to really SEE the places
you travel through rather than skim over or around them. This is immersion
travelling in the best possible sense.

Arriving in the Romanian capital city, behind the old Iron
Curtain, we were whisked off for a typical Romanian lunch – including wine –
before our feet had barely touched the ground. Then it was off on a
fully-guided tour of the city, stopping at key points to get an understanding
of the architecture, history – and politics.

Having got a feel for this surprising, vibrant city, it was
then time to head for our home base for the next 12 days, the 132-passenger River Duchess, newly refurbished for
this particular voyage and a genuine haven of warmth and comfort.

With only 82 in this group, there is plenty of space in
which to stretch out, relax and let the onboard service cosset you with
friendly, attentive courtesy that is a joy to be around.

A warm ‘welcome aboard’ was swiftly followed by a remarkably
humorous reception from Captain Michael Hofmann and his largely east European
crew. The feel, though, is more Viennese boutique charm than anything else.

The food also matches it, and our Cruise Manager, Christine,
adds to the feeling by ensuring we know everything in store for the next
morning’s full-day excursion into the Bulgarian hinterland, to the former
capital city of Veliko Tarnovo and the UNESCO World heritage site of Arbanassi
village, a 16th century settlement of enormous beauty.

However, there is always an alternative with Uniworld, hence
we were also offered a trip to a local nature reserve or the option of simply
staying aboard at leisure to enjoy the Duchess’s
slow progress along the river, meeting the inland excursion further upstream.

As it turned out, the weather was pretty miserable, it
rained much of the day, but Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanassi were an absolute
delight, a glimpse of both modern and historical Bulgarian life that veered
from near-poverty levels in the rural areas to breathtaking architecture in the
12th century fortress of Tsarevets.

In arbanassi, we were also treated to a classic Bulgarian meal (see pic above) of Shopska
salad (cucumber, tomato, peppers, onion and parsley), vegetable soup and
chicken stew, washed down with a rather good Bulgarian merlot that gave
everything a certain glow. We could definitely get to like this Uniworld
style…!

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